Chapter 18 #2
A couple of folks passed me by, offering a smile and a g’day, and I wondered if this would be what it could be like if I moved back here.
Life here was so perfectly simple. There were a bunch of small communities close by, Cooroy included, plenty of beaches and national parks.
Plus, the major cities in Australia could be reached easily by flight, and our closest, Brisbane, wasn’t that far away.
The biggest pull of all was Nate, who’d just stepped out of the coffee shop with two coffees and a white bag. He was saying something over his shoulder to the person inside, following up with a chuckle.
God, he was handsome, and the way that his laugh wrinkled his eyes just so was sexy as hell.
Pushing away the pang of regret that I’d be leaving soon, I stopped in my tracks, waiting for him to spot me. It didn’t take long for his attention to fall on me, and a very different expression formed.
As if on cue, my breath hitched, just like it always did when longing, heat, and joy filled his expression. The emotions were as clear on his face as they were imprinted in my heart. I shook myself out of my Nate-induced haze, something I fell into more and more.
I never expected to be like this, ever, but I didn’t regret a single jumble of emotions the man brought out in me.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Once before me, his arm jerked ever so slightly, and I knew he struggled with not reaching out. Fear and rules sucked. Even more so when I was responsible for both.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, which earned me a soft smile, I indicated toward the paper bag. “Got something good in there?”
He quirked his brow and gripped the bag tighter. “Nothing you need to know about. You missed your run this morning.”
A disgruntled moan escaped me. “You’re almost as bad as Coach.” My stomach flipped at that.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, probably my former coach.”
Eyes wide, Nate stared at me a beat. “I think you need this more than me.” Like the good guy he was, he handed me the bag. A quick look revealed a fresh and thick lamington.
“God, I missed these. You’re the best.”
Nate snorted. “And don’t forget it. Let me drop Dad’s coffee off, and then we can head to the park if you want?”
I nodded. “Let me order a coffee.”
It didn’t take long before we sat on a park bench, and I munched happily on the chocolate, sponge, and coconut-sprinkled lamington. Having told him the basics of the call, I struggled to fix on exactly how I felt, and told him as much.
“It sounds like a great move for you. They’ll be lucky to have you.” His words were careful, a little too controlled.
“Well, I like to think so.” My chuckle tapered off to a soft sigh. “It’s just thrown me for a loop.”
After finishing off the dregs of his coffee, Nate angled to face me, giving me his full attention. “I’m excited for you, and honestly, proud as hell. Plus, hello… Vegas, baby.” This time his voice was much more animated. I appreciated what he was trying to do.
“At least Vegas is so much closer to LAX.” I eyed him carefully, waiting for a reaction.
“Just over an hour’s flight. Much better than four hours.”
Hope awoke inside me, stretching and fluttering. “You’ve already looked into it?”
Nate rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, color touching his cheeks. “I may have spent some time looking into it this morning.”
My spirits soared, the wings taking flight. “Yeah?” Grinning, I briefly stroked his cheek with my thumb before forcing myself to pull away.
I didn’t miss the twitch of Nate’s lips when he rolled his eyes at me. “You’ll miss your friends, though.”
His words pulled me up short, dowsing the wings, making them soggy before they plummeted to the pit of my stomach.
“I will.” Regret sat heavily. “It changes things a lot.” While I rationally understood the trade didn’t have to change anything about the offer I’d made Nate, there was something about the safety and familiarity of Nate being with me in Minnesota that made everything more feasible.
Not having that, not having Sutton and Jayden literally at my back if I needed them, shouldn’t have impacted a single thing.
But knowing I’d be in a new town, in a new team, with players I didn’t have bonds with, all while trying to keep my love for Nate on the down-low, all seemed too much.
“I know.”
Fuck, I hated this.
“Listen.” The sternness of Nate’s tone took me by surprise. “Let’s focus on how amazing this is, okay? That’s what matters.”
I wasn’t sure I fully agreed, but I nodded regardless.
“We knew you were leaving after a month. We expected it was going to be crap, but we can’t get buried in any of that. Seriously, it’s depressing.”
A snort escaped me. “True that.”
“You need to go spend the day with your gran and your niece. And let’s promise to figure something out.”
The soggy wings of hope made a valiant effort to shake themselves off. “You think we can? Figure something out, I mean?”
“I love you, so of course we will. Now, I need you to bugger off so I can get on with my day and not give in to the need to kiss you.”
Nate managed to draw a grin from me. While he’d always been a miracle worker at getting me to smile, the man I knew was a dead set happiness fiend or a magician or something.
“Love you too,” I said as I stood. Leaning into his space and absolutely playing with fire, I whispered, “Also, just to let you know, tonight we’re staying at your house.
” I edged back and took in the heat in his eyes.
“I think it’s about time you showed me what other skills you have with your cock. ”
Red spread like wildfire on his face, and his jaw fell open.
“The earlier you finish your day, the quicker we can get started.” And like the bastard I was, I smirked, winked, turned away, and headed to the car. I just hoped the short drive back would give me time to encourage my raging hard-on to calm down.